Counterfeiting is a significant problem with hardware, and particularly networking hardware. For example, often times an organization will sell its Media Access Controller (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) chips to other vendors at a heavily discounted rate. Later, full network adapters are seen in the field with those MAC/PHY chips on them. These network adapters are counterfeits that use the left-over MAC/PHY chips that were sold at the discounted prices to the original vendors. To make matters worse, the network boards used with these MAC/PHY parts are usually made with substandard parts as well as a substandard manufacturing process, causing the network adapter to not work properly and fail early. This results in a surge of customer support calls, which are also expensive.
Detecting a counterfeit network adapter is difficult to do. The counterfeit adapters are typically identical to the real network adapters in almost every way, except workmanship and the materials used to build the adapter. Accordingly, a counterfeit prevention program implemented by an organization would be beneficial to address and eradicate counterfeits of the organization's products.
A counterfeit prevention program generally should accomplish three goals. First, creating the ability to identify a counterfeit adapter and to inform the end-user that the adapter is counterfeit. Second, leading the counterfeiters to believe that the adapters they are making are working normally so that their manufacturing behavior does not change. Third, controlling the counterfeit adapters in such a way as to direct when they cease to function.
Counterfeiting is costly to an organization because parts are sold at a discounted rate, which takes away potential sales and revenue. Counterfeit boards are typically substandard quality which creates negative goodwill, as well as increased support calls, for an organization. This problem exists for all major vendors. Thus, a mechanism to prevent counterfeiting prevention while accomplishing the above goals would be beneficial.